House OKs budget, but process is far from done

Some Republicans are unhappy with the version that received approval by a 105-97 margin.

Some Mon Valley officials are reacting strongly after the House gave its approval Monday to a $50.6 billion budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.

The bill passed on a 105-97 vote, with three Republicans joining all the chamber’s Democrats.

State Rep. Bud Cook, R-West Pike Run Township, voted against the budget, stating there are too many unanswered questions.

“I voted ‘no’ on House Bill 1330, the budget proposal, because it spends $50.6 billion, and we still don’t know where the money to support those expenditures is coming from,” Cook said in a statement. “How can we approve a bill when House Democrats and Gov. Josh Shapiro have failed to answer the simple question of how we are going to pay for it?”

The budget bill was due July 1, making it two weeks past its deadline. The bill will move on to the Republican controlled Senate, where it could face some changes.

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa and Senate Democratic Appropriations Chair Vincent Hughes released a statement after the bill passed the House, highlighting some delays the bill has faced.

“The budget process has dragged on long enough and issues that have strong bipartisan support are being held hostage because of it,” they wrote. “For example, Senate Democrats have 23 votes to fund roads and bridges and mass transit today. We know Senate Republicans also support infrastructure funding. Yet, nothing happens.”

State Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, shared some similar sentiments as Cook.

“It’s been FIVE months since the governor outlined his budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year and FOUR months since budget hearings concluded,” Warner wrote in a statement. “Rather than use that time to negotiate and work together toward a reasonable, responsible budget, majority House Democrats abruptly called for a vote on a spending plan that’s still too costly and sets our taxpayers up for a tax hike in the very near future.”

Cook was also critical of the opposition party.

“This budget proposal represents the Democrats’ plan that slashes into our reserves,” Cook said. “When Gov. Shapiro came into office, the state had over $13 billion in reserves. By the time this year ends, that number will be cut in half.

“If House Democrats were serious about including Republicans in budget negotiations, they would not include harmful energy taxes that would kill jobs in the 50th District and directly tax coal and natural gas power plants, which would force customers into higher energy bills.”

Some of Shapiro’s top budget priorities are to boost funding for public schools and public transit agencies. Funding for public transit has become a focal point in areas like Allegheny County, with Pittsburgh Regional Transit considering cuts to its services.